A PRINTING PRESS IN HBO’s GILDED AGE
/A PRINTING PRESS IN HBO’s GILDED AGE
Ernie Lindner with the grasshopper press on the set of harry and walter go to new york
This month, HBO aired the first episode of its widely anticipated new period drama, The Gilded Age. The latest project by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, the series takes a look into the lives of New York’s elites during the 1880s. Without spoiling anything, you may want to keep your eyes peeled for a familiar looking printing press in Episode #4: A Long Ladder.
The Museum has a long history of renting printing presses for film shoots. Over the years, our presses have made cameos in TV shows, movies and commercials. A few past rentals have included Newsies, Seven Pounds, Inception, The Master, Gilmore Girls and American Gods. Even before the Museum existed, Museum founder Ernie Lindner rented presses from his collection for nearly 100 movies and shows. “Every Western needs an editor to kill or printing press to destroy,” Ernie would quip.
Mark and George Moving the Press out of the gallery
HBO’s Gilded Age is certainly our biggest rental yet. They were interested in renting one of the largest presses we have on view at the Museum: our Prouty “Grasshopper” newspaper press from the late 1800s. We were more than happy to oblige but knew there was a lot of work to make this happen. These scenes for the Gilded Age were filmed on location at the historic Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York; our responsibility was to get the presses and equipment there. Before shipping the 5,000 lb press to New York, we needed to get the press back in working order and then finagle it out of the Museum. The last movie the press was featured in was Harry and Walter Go To New York in 1976, with actors Elliot Gould and James Caan. Ernie was even on set for that rental! Ironic that the Prouty was actually heading to New York this time.
TEST PRINTS AND PAWPRINTS
The Prouty Cylinder Press was actually designed to be easy to ship and operate. Its inventor, a Baptist minister named Enoch Prouty, made his original press to be lightweight, economical and transportable. The press gained popularity in small country print shops because it could be fully disassembled for shipping, it was easily operated with a hand crank and it was actually lighter than other cylinder presses on the market, which could weigh up to 10,000-pounds.
Our director, Mark, and dedicated volunteer, George Bush, spent many nights working on the press to get it printing again. Once operational, everyone helped printing copies of a fake “historic” newspaper that would appear to be printed on set. Even the Museum’s cat contributed to the printing by leaving a trail of inky pawprints on a pile of newsprint one night.
Since we were not planning to disassemble our 150-year-old press, Prouty’s ingenuity was no help to us. We ended up ripping out the wooden flooring to get the beast out of the 19th century newspaper set it had lived in for decades. Once on the wheels of the pallet jack, we rolled it carefully through the double doors of the theater and out into the parking lot. From there, Mark had to balance the press on a forklift and get it into a New York-bound truck, along with a full truckload of other presses, machines and props.
WATCH US PRINT ON THE GRASSHOPPER AND MOVE IT OUT OF THE MUSEUM FOR SHIPPING
MARK LOADING THE PRESS ONTO A TRUCK
Mark and John Barrett (Letterpress things) getting presses installed on set
MARK at LYNDHURST MANSION IN TARRYTOWN, NY
But the work didn’t end there. Mark also traveled to New York in April 2021 to unload the truck in the hotel parking lot, load onto a smaller truck and transport to the historic mansion property, The Lyndhurst Mansion. Mark’s machinery moving cohort in New York was none other than our friend John Barrett of Letterpress Things in Massachusetts. Together they set up the presses in the Carriage House of the mansion, creating a fully realistic period shop. The Prouty Press barely made it through the doors, with 1” to spare. Mark is always on set when the presses are operated, helping to show the actors and crew how to operate the presses, both for safety and historic accuracy.
The press is now back at home in the main gallery of the Museum, safely nestled into its comfortable flooring again. Come see the Prouty Newspaper Press in action when you visit for a tour and check out new episodes of Gilded Age every Monday on HBO!
Mark on the set of gilded age with Denée Benton and Sullivan Jones
ERNIE LINDNER AND THE PROUTY ON SET WITH ELLIOTT GOULD AND JAMES CAAN FOR the 1976 FILM, HARRY & WALTER GO TO NEW YORK
